'Sons of 2 ex-CMs in 640 crore stamp duty franking scam'

MUMBAI:The opposition on Tuesday sought to blame Maharashtra's financial mess on a series of scams which have been allegedly perpetuated by members of the DF government. Upping the ante over the alleged large-scale misappropriation in the contracts awarded for franking of stamps for payment of stamp duty, opposition leader in the legislative council Vinod Tawde (BJP) hinted at the involvement of the sons of two former Maharashtra chief ministers in the Rs 640 crore scam.

"The tender was awarded to three companies in 2007 without inviting bids or following a competitive bidding process. This raises questions about two former chief ministers, and the government must answer into whose pocket this money has gone ," Tawde said while presenting his views on the state's latest budget proposal.

The opposition, while lashing out at the government for making no mention of a series of scams that have rocked it in the recent past, said misappropriation of funds was one reason why the state's debts were mounting.

'State making common man pay for scams'

MUMBAI: The opposition lashed out at the DF government for its failure to check scams in the state. "The common man would have been saved the burden of the huge debt and the financial mess had the government managed to save the money gone waste in scams. Instead, the government chose to increase taxes to shore up revenue ," said leader of the opposition in the assembly Vinod Tawde while making a mention of the malpractices in the contract awarded for the generation of TDR (transfer of development rights). The TDR tenders were finalized in less than 24 hours during Holi, he alleged.

The contract for franking stamps through its branches in the state is awarded through the inspector-general of registration & controller of stamps and chief controlling revenue authority , government of Maharashtra. The process has been streamlined since the scam came to public knowledge some years back.

The opposition had promised it would target the government on the Adarsh scam, the alleged Hiranandani housing scam, disproportionate assets case against Congress leader Kripashankar Singh, illegal cultivation of opium in some parts of Maharashtra, and the deteriorating law and order situation.